Artistic License in Application Essays

College Essays
1

<p>How much artistic license can we assume in our Common Application essays?</p>

<p>For example, I was thinking of saying that one of my friends wears dark glasses to set the scene (e.g. “…the chessboard reflected in his dark glasses…”) and to symbolize a facade of cruelty when in reality he wears contact lenses. Do you think I have an intrinsic right to lie in this circumstance, or should I avoid it? (Everything else in my essay is spot-on factual.)</p>

2

<p>Bump! I have been wondering this too!</p>

<p>IMHO, the little add-in about the glasses should be fine… But I have no authority to speak on such things :P</p>

3

<p>I don’t think there’s anything ethically wrong with it, but this specific example might end up seeming staged/unrealistic. </p>